idiot savants

Page 1 "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get"(Tom Hanks, (Forrest Gump). This quote symbolizes a lot in people don't get to choose what They are given; they have to work with what they have. This is the case in literature as Well as in life for those who live with an idiot savant syndrome. Forrest Gump, Raymond Babbit, and real-life savant Alonzo Clemons all deal with the fact they are not the same as everyone else. Though dealt certain mental deficiencies, idiot savants, whether fictional or real, all excel in some aspect of their lives. Idiot savant, is a term that is defined as "a mentally defective person with an exceptional skill or talent in a special field" (Random House 951). Dr. J. London first described the syndrome in 1887, who also had described Downs Syndrome years earlier. He found that an idiot savant has a highly developed ability to play music or to solve complex math equations at great speeds. Savants usually have an IQ of above forty this would usually insure only moderate mental retardation, not severe as one might think. The mental handicap of a savant can be described as autism or mental retardation. These skills exist within a very narrow range of human abilitie

One in every two-thousand idiot savants occurs in an institutionalized mentally retarded person. "I played as if I were a duck in water" (Forrest Gump). By working together, Raymond helps save Charlie's business and in return, Charlie excepts his brother for who he is. This superior memory is very deep, but only within a very narrow area. "(Wisconsin Medical Society 37)"He began to mold clay into amazingly detailed animal figures that he had never even seen before" (Wisconsin Medical Society 39). After his service in the army, Forrest went on to start a multi-million shrimp excavating business called BubbaGump Shrimp. Since the last poll done in 1995 by San Diego Medical Board, it is estimated that only fifty prodigious savants exist worldwide. Forrest was born with a mental handicap of having an IQ of seventy-five, lower than the average student able to go to public school. Another great example of a fictional idiot savant is Raymond Babbit, also known as "Rainman" played by Dustin Hoffman. His work is shown in galleries all around the world, selling at astonishing prices. While attending public high school he was constantly harassed by boys of his own age and older.